Reservoir-handled, measured-feed fountain shaving brush



Nov. 7, 1950 J. A. LOEWINSOHN RESERVOIR-HANDLED, MEASURED-FEED FOUNTAIN SHAVING BRUSH Filed April 23, 1948 cws Attorney Patented Nov. 7, 1950 RESERVOIR-HANDLED, MEASURED-FEED FOUNTAIN SHAVING BRUSH Joseph A. Loewinsohn, Atlanta, Ga. Application April 23, 1948, Serial No. 22,823

2 Claims.

This invention relates to fountain shaving brushes in which a supply of fluent soap contained within the handle is adapted to be fed onto the bristles of the brush.

An important object of the invention is to provide a shaving brush of the above character in which by a simple twist of the handle communication can be opened and closed between the brush handle and the head for controlling the delivery of soap to the bristles; I I 7 Another object of my invention is to provide a shaving brush of the above character in which a measured supply of soap is fed to the brush head when the brush is about to be used which supply of soap is normally sufiicient to provide lather throughout the entire shaving period, thus making it unnecessary for the user to interrupt his shaving from time to time to obtain soap for additional lather. o

Other objects and advantages will be apparent from the following detailed description of a preferred embodiment of the invention, in which:

Figure 1 is a side view, in major part cross-sectional, of a fountain shaving brush;

Figure 2 is a transverse cross-sectional view taken on the line 22 of Fig. 1;

Figure 3 is a perspective view of the upper end of the brush head; and

Figure 4 is a detail view showing the slot and cooperating .pin which limits the relative turning movement between the brush handle and head.

The fountain shaving brush illustrated in the drawing comprises generallya hollow handle I providing a receptacle for a supply of liquid soap S, and a head 2 rotatably associated with the handle and supporting the usual bristles 2a for applying lather to the face.

The upper end of the handle I is closed by a cap 3 engaging screw threads upon the handle so that by removing the cap the handle can be filled with a supply of soap as occasion requires. A vent hole 4 passes through the wall of the handle and is normally closed by the cap 3. By unscrewing the cap, the hole is uncovered to admit atmospheric pressure to the inside of the handle above the level of the soap contained therein.

The handle at its lower end has a fiat bottom wall Ia provided with one or more outlet openings 5 (here shown as two in number) through which the soap passes out of the handle.

The brush head 2 comprises a ring 6 encircling and mounting the bristles 2a and this ring is formed with a cylindrical neck I which snugly fits within an annular extension 8 of the handle I downwardly beyond the bottom Ia. The lower g 2 edge of the extension 8 is fiat and tightly abuts a fiat ledge 9 on the brush head. A compressible felt sealing disk I0 is interposed between the opposed fiat faces of the extension 8 and the ledge 9. The neck I is axially recessed to form a space II and the upper end of the neck is closed by a flat top wall I2. In order to hold the brush handle and head in assembly a rivet I3 passes through axial openings in the bottom wall v Ia of the brush handle and the flat top wall I2 of the head, this rivet serving to hold the two walls in tight face-to-face contact and also as a pivot for allowing relative rotation between the handle and the brush head. The top Wall I2 is formed with a plurality of openings I4 adapted to lie in or out of registry with the openings 5 in the bottom Ia of the handle when the handle is rotated relative to the brush head, and the openings I4 are extended as channels so asto communicate with.

the space H, which constitutes a chamber for holding a small amount of soap. A short tube I5 extends centrally within the bundle of bristles 2a and opens into the chamber II, and this tube serves, as a discharge orifice, to deliver soap from the soap chamber onto the bristles.

A pin I6 projecting up from the upper face of the top wall I2 of the brush head enters an arouate slot I"! in the bottom Ia of the handle and limits rotation between the brush handle and head. The slot I! is slightly constricted intermediate its length, as indicated at I'Ia in Fig. 2, and the pin,

I 6 is split longitudinally so as to form two spring sections Ifia capable of yielding radially to permit the pin to pass the constricted portion of the slot. The pin thus functions as a detent against accidental rotation of the brush handle and head from either soap feeding or non-feeding positions of the openings 5 and I4. Index marks I8 are placed on the brush handle and the head in cooperative relationship to indicate when the openings 5 and I4 are located in open or closed position.

The fountain shaving brush is adapted to be used in the following manner: The handle I is filled with liquid soap S by unscrewing the cap 3 after which the cap is replaced. By twisting the handle relative to the head 2 the openings 5 and I4 are brought into registry, after which the cap is given a slight additional rotation to back it ofi sufliciently to uncover the air vent 4 to break the vacuum in the handle. Thereupon the soap flows from the handle through these openings into the chamber II and when this chamber has been twisted in the reverse direction until the pin [6 comes to rest at the end of the slot I! closing the openings and [4 as indicated by the index marks 18. The cap 3 is also screwed back tightly onto the handle.

The user thereupon wets the bristles and the soap supply in the chamber II escaping through the tube [5 onto the bristles provides a lather. In the case of fountain shaving brushes a usually constructed, the soap is fed directly from the soap receptacle onto the bristles so that it is necessary to repeatedly open the soap feeding valve which entails considerable time and annoyance on the part of the shaver. An important advantage of the present invention isthe provision of the soap chamber l l which can be filled at the beginning of a shaving operation and which will retain enough soap to provide the necessary lather for the entire shaving period. Because the soap chamber II is more or less closed to atmospheric pressure (except for the air which indirectly finds its way thereinto) the flow of soap down the tube IE will take place slowly, aided by the joggling of the brush when it is used in'working up a lather, and will stop when the brush is laid aside.

The shaving brush just described may be made of a moldable material, such as rubber composition or plastic, and I prefer to make the handle of a transparent -plastic-such, for example, as Lucite-so that the quantity of soap within the handle may always be known by inspection through the transparent wall of the handle.

Manifestly various changes in construction and design of the fountain shaving brush described above may be made without departing from the spirit of my invention as defined by the following claims.

I claim: 1

1. A fountain shaving brush comprising a hollow handle providing a receptacle'for containing a supply of liquid soap, a brush head rota tably 4 associated with the handle and shaving bristles extending from one end thereof, openings in the receptacle and the brush head adapted to be brought into and out of registering positions by rotative movement of the handle, a soap chamber in the brush head below the receptacle. said soap receptacle being normally closed against atmospheric pressure, an air vent in the wall of said soap receptable, a cap for closing an end of the handle arranged to be moved into and out of covering relation with said vent, and a tubular discharge orifice providing communication between the soap chamber and the bristles, said soap chamber being'of enlarged size relative to the discharge orifice so as to maintain the orifice completely filled with soap throughout a shaving operation. 7

2. A fountain shaving brush as set forth in claim '1 including means for limiting the relative rotation between the brush handle and the head and for yieldingly locking said handle in its tWo extreme positions of rotation, said limiting means comprising a split and laterally compressible pin movable within a slot having expanded terminal portions.

JOSEPH A. LOEWINSOHN. REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Hussey Aug. 12, 

